Hi, All,
You are invited: See you there. Fran
In honor of the famous statue of novelist Charles Dickens that has graced
Clark Park since 1901, the Friends of Clark Park is hosting a birthday bash to
honor the author. The annual Charles Dickens Birthday Party is one of West
Philadelphia’s most unique and entertaining events. This year, we’ll celebrate
the novelist’s 202nd birthday with dramatic readings, music, and tasty treats.
The party will commence at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 2, in Griffith Hall of
the University of the Sciences, 43rd and Kingsessing, across the street from
Clark Park. Admission is free.
Curio Theatre’s Josh Hitchens will perform scenes from Hard Times. Actors Ceil
Mann and Larry Beck will read selections from David Copperfield and Nicholas
Nickleby, and local writer and Dickens ambassador Edward G. Pettit will treat
the audience to a Dickens ghost story. They’ll be joined on stage by guest
readers from the community with selections from Great Expectations and other
novels. The program will conclude with a performance by the Kingsessing Morris
Men, prize winners at the 2014 Mummers Parade, who will offer a sampling of
English morris dancing. The festivities will end with the traditional walk to
the Dickens statue where we will all sing “Happy Birthday!”
Dickens was a literary superstar when the neighborhoods of West Philadelphia
were developed with new housing, schools, and parks. The bronze Dickens was
installed in ClarkPark in 1901 and for over a century it was the only Dickens
statue in the world, due to the novelist’s request that no memorials or statues
were to be erected in his honor. West Philadelphians meet annually on or near
his birthday to commemorate the statue’s special role in their neighborhood’s
history and in literary history.
Everyone is invited to attend—but please come early. The program begins at 2
p.m. sharp and concludes about an hour and a half later.
